Frying Pans, Hockey Sticks and Dysfunctional Friendships
by LumosOrion
Summary: University is a daunting place, a new start, a new city and now, a new home. When sorting out their living arrangements, none of our four thought they'd be sharing a house with one another. This is the story of how they learned to get along, how their friendship grew throughout the years and maybe even blossomed into something more. [ROTBTD College AU]
1. Chapter 1: A bit of Frost

Leaving home was a big thing.

It always would be really, but to Jack it was bigger, he always seemed to go home no matter how far he travelled but now he was leaving, like actually moving away. It wasn't as if he would never return again but it was the feeling that he was moving somewhere else, that he would have a semi-permanent home for himself and was frightening, that he was growing up, getting older. Looking around his room, he noticed just how bare it was, all that was left was the furniture as the rest had been packed away, all in his car ready to leave.

He could hear the footsteps thundering their way up to his room and was able to put down his hockey stick before his sister barrelled herself into his arms. He couldn't help but bend down and wrap his arms around her in return.

"Hey, what are those tears for?" He asked her, lifting her chin slightly and wiping the tears from her cheeks with the sleeve of his sweatshirt.

"You're leaving us" The younger girl mumbled, her warm brown eyes flicking up to meet her brother's icy blue.

"Not forever, never forever" Jack promised her, hooking his pinky around hers. "Do you hear that, Emma? I promise I'll come back, I mean when have I ever broken a promise?"

"Okay" She said, sniffing slightly before her lips turned up into a smile.

Picking up his hockey stick, Jack took his little sister's hand and began to make his way down the stairs, swinging their arms between them to try and keep the smile on his sister's face. When getting down to the front door, Jack noticed his parents standing there with a large smiles on their lips and could only return them with one of his own. Resting his hockey stick against the wall, Jack let go of his sisters hand and embraced his mother who was bordering on tears. After releasing his mom's hold, he stood in front of his Dad, not knowing what to do, knowing his father wasn't the affectionate type. It shocked Jack when his dad pulled him into a hug before letting go and clapping his hands down on his shoulders.

"I am so proud of you" His dad told him, making sure he looked Jack in the eye when saying it.

It wasn't long before Jack was in his truck and driving away from home and of to college where he was ready to spend the next four years of his life studying philosophy while on a ice hockey scholarship. He was ready for a long drive but as he drove, the time seemed to fly away with every different track that played as he drove to his new home. After a very long drive, Jack turned off the music in his truck and took a deep breath before turning into the road where his his new home was situated.

Looking out the window, Jack slowed down slightly so he was able to count the house numbers as he drove. His ice blue eyes landed on the house with the number four attached to the door and after checking the paperwork he had on his dashboard, he confirmed that to be the house he was to live in for the next four years.

Noticing the driveway, Jack pulled onto it and parked the car before stepping out of the car so he was able to look at the house properly. The house itself was a really decent size, he had seen pictures of it when securing a room there with the landlord but seeing it in person was a completely different thing, it seemed to be a lot bigger than he had given credit for. He knew that he would have to make a few trips back to the truck to get all his stuff in the house so he settled for his hockey stick and a duffel bag he kept in the front seat.

Fishing the key from his pocket, Jack managed to unlock the door and kick it open with his foot so he was able to step into the hallway and kick the door shut behind him. He turned to turn the lights on before realizing they already were and furrowed his eyebrows, looking around the open plan hallway and toward the kitchen where he swore he could have heard a sound.

"Hello?" He called out, listening intently for an answer, only to be met by silence.

Sliding the strap of his duffel bag slide of his shoulder, Jack moved his arm and dropped it on the laminated floor but kept a hold of his lucky hockey stick as he slowly padded his way toward the kitchen. He stepped into the brightly lit room and looked around for anything which could have made a noise, it was only when he made a 360 turn that he was face to face with a petite girl with long blonde hair passing her waist holding up a frying pan.

"Wai-"

Jack wasn't even able to finish the word on his lips before the girl swung and the pan came crashing down on his head, causing Jack to fall down on the floor, unconscious.


	2. Chapter 2: Of Blondes and Frying Pans

"Oh shit, what have I done?" The blonde girl mumbled to herself, keeping a hold of the pan and staring at the boy on the floor. "Hey, you had to, you don't know who the hell he is!"

Stepping closer to the boy, the blonde girl slowly knelt down beside the boy and brushed the strands of white blonde hair away from his face so she was able to see him better. As his face was revealed, her mouth fell open slightly and looked at him with warm eyes.

"Wow"

"What?"

Jumping back, the girl held up the frying pan as the white haired boy opened his eyes so his ice blue eyes met her own. Lifting his hand up to the back of his head, Jack began to sit up and easily got up to his feet again, never taking his eyes off of the blonde girl in front of him, holding the frying pan above her head.

"Who are you?" She asked, glaring at the boy who had made his way into her home.

"I'm Jack, Jack Frost?" He said carefully, his hand gripping his hockey stick, preparing to defend himself if she were to swing the pan again. "And you?"

"Rapunzel Gothel" The blonde girl said, finally making herself known as she attempted to challenge him.

"Well Rapunzel, it really is a pleasure to meet you, will you be hitting me with the pan again or shall I relax?" Jack asked her with a slight laugh in his voice.

"I'm not dropping the pan" Rapunzel told him, her lips forming into a displeasing pout.

"Okay, fine. Do you live here as well? I'm just moving in, I guess I didn't make a good first impression seeing as you felt the need to hit me with the pan"

By then, Rapunzel wasn't able to stop the smile from making its way onto her lips and she placed the pan back down on the cooker. She realized then that she probably should have paid attention to the fact that he had let himself in, meaning that he probably had a key to the door, either that or he could pick locks but his last statement had proved that the latter wasn't true.

"I'm sorry, I'm not used to people letting themselves in during the middle of the night" Rapunzel apologized, running a hand through her golden locks before giving him an apologetic smile.

"Its okay, just next time you may want a different weapon instead of a frying pan, I mean I'm not sure how many people you'll be able to scare using the same thing which is used to cook bacon of a morning" Jack told her with a grin.

"You're just glad Merida isn't here, she'd have got the bow and arrow out without even blinking" She told him, giving him a shrug of the shoulder. "Hey, do you need any help with your bags?"

"Uh.. nah I'll unpack it in the morning, I mean I don't want to risk getting hit with the pan again" The white haired boy jestered before jumping up onto the kitchen counter and giving Rapunzel a smile. "Has anyone told you that you have some seriously long hair?"

Rolling her eyes, Rapunzel decided to ignore the obvious about her hair and instead ran a hand through it. She liked the length of her hair, her mother did anyway, personally Rapunzel would want it a bit shorter but her mother didn't want her to, she wanted it to stay long, blond and golden. Though she disagreed, Rapunzel kept it at the length it was for her mother, knowing that she hadn't done much for her mother but at least by keeping the hair she was keeping her happy. Picking up the frying pan again, Rapunzel turned around so she was facing Jack and lightly tapped him on the cheek with it.

"Now, I'm going to bed, I'm also keeping the frying pan, so don't even think about disturbing me" Rapunzel tried warning, but knowing that her voice couldn't sound bitchy even if she tried.

Watching her pick up a sketch pad he hadn't even realized was there, Jack didn't look away until she was out of sight and then chuckled to himself, running a hand through his hair and over the bump which had formed from where Rapunzel had hit him. Moving around the kitchen, Jack picked up a piece of paper which was on the floor and opened it up to see a very detailed drawing on it of a girl dancing. Shrugging, Jack shoved it in his back pocket and made his way up the stairs and then up again to his room.

Noticing the second door, Jack nudged it open with his foot only to see an entirely bare room, nothing was in there, not even a bed or even a wardrobe. Shrugging, Jack turned back to the only other door and kicked it open so the room was revealed. Smiling, he made his way into the room and span around, taking in the room before collapsing on the bed and letting out a large sigh.

"Girls and frying pans really are a lethal combination" He mumbled through a yawn before laying down on one side, not bothering to change and eventually fell into a peaceful sleep.


	3. Chapter 3: Never poke a Red Bush

The calm morning air was broken as footsteps came stomping down the stairs, Rapunzel had already been up at seven, a routine she got herself into as she preferred to be up, productive and useful than staying in bed and doing nothing for the rest of the day. Moving the pancakes out of the pan and onto the stack she had managed to balance, Rapunzel looked over toward the door as a mess of red hair stomped her way in.

"Good morning Merida!" She sang out with a large smile, placing the pancakes in the middle of the table and setting an extra place for Jack if he were to emerge.

The only reply she got in return from the red haired girl was a grumble as she pulled her knees up and began to sip from the mug of coffee on the table in front of her. Rapunzel could only smile and shrug slightly, she knew that Merida would polish off three pancakes in about three minutes. She walked out of the kitchen after seeing Merida pull one of the pancakes onto her plate and went to the door just off of the dining hall and knocked twice.

"Hiccup! Breakfast!" She called before gracefully moving back into the kitchen, knowing the brown haired and freckled boy was following behind.

"Hey, Punzie?" Merida's voice was heard although muffled through the mouthful of pancakes which she was still chewing. "What's the other plate set of for?"

"Yeah, I just noticed that too," Hiccup said, backing Merida up as he slid into the chair next to her and gave Rapunzel a look as if willing an answer.

"Well.." The blonde girl mumbled, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear before Merida piped up again.

"Rapunzel, just tell us already, I mean if you finally met a guy then that's great, sure, but you could at least warn us" Merida said, her mouth full of pancake again as she pulled herself yet another pancake onto the plate in front of her.

"I swear, either I'm dreaming or that red bush just spoke" Jack's tired voice was heard from the door.

All three heads snapped around to the door where Jack was walking in, a yawn taking over his features as he ran a hand through his hair. As he walked in, Jack sent Rapunzel a sleepy smile before sitting down at the opposite end of the table and staring at Merida and Hiccup who were now giving him very confused and accusing looks.

"Oh.. the red bush is actually human? Learn something new everyday" Jack said more to himself as he grabbed a slice of toast from the middle of the table and took a bite from it.

"Guys, this is Jack, he's our new room mate?" Rapunzel introduced the white haired boy to the two of them, unsure of the reaction she was to get.

"What did he just call me?" Merida asked through gritted teeth, her Scottish accent becoming a lot thicker than it had been before.

"I'm sure he didn't mean it" Hiccup offered the red headed girl who's knuckles were turning white from how tight she had began to grip her fork.

Jack only laughed to himself and raised his eyebrows at Merida before pulling a pancake onto his plate. He ignored the filthy look that the redhead was giving him and the inquisitive look that Hiccup had as if he was trying to read him. Turning to Rapunzel, Jack raised an eyebrow as she had been stood awkwardly watching the rest of the table.

"Are you going to join us? I mean you should eat you know, breakfast is most important meal after all" Jack told her, lifting a piece of the pancake to his lips.

Blushing slightly, Rapunzel sat down in her usual seat and poured herself a large mug of coffee, trying not to look at Jack who was still staring at the other two people at the end of the table. She felt awkward, Hiccup and Merida was still strangers to this boy, even she was really, but she seemed to the be the only person who felt as if it were her duty for him to be accepted into the house.

"So.. the two of you know my name, what are yours?" Jack asked the both of them, making sure he'd swallowed the mouthful he had before speaking.

"I'm Hiccup, welcome to the house" Hiccup introduced himself almost unsurely but offered his hand for the other boy to shake.

Hiccup was slightly apprehensive as to how the boy was going to react to his name, whether he'd laugh or make a remark about it but Jack didn't do either, just smiled at the boy and shook his hand causing Hiccup to return the smile and then go back to his breakfast. Merida was still glaring at Jack, and if looks could kill, Jack would have been cremated by then. Both Hiccup and Rapunzel exchanged an uneasy look as Jack raised an eyebrow and used a hand gesture to prompt the redheaded girl into speaking.

"Merida" She spat out before pushing away from the table and stomping back up the stairs.

"So what are you studying, Jack?" Rapunzel asked the fair haired blonde so not to let an awkward silence fall over the table.

"Well I originally got in for an ice hockey scholarship but I'm also taking a major in Philosophy" Jack explained with a grin before gesturing to her and Hiccup. "What about you both?"

"Well, I'm doing a major in Art" Rapunzel said with a smile herself.

"I'm doing one in mechanical engineering" Hiccup told him with a small shrug, taking a sip of his juice after finishing.

"They're pretty cool!" Jack commented before remembering and reaching into his back pocket to pull out the drawing he'd found last night and turning to Rapunzel. "Is this yours? I found it on the kitchen floor after you went to bed last night"

"Yeah.. it is" Rapunzel said, her voice taking on a slightly shocked tone as she took the drawing off of the boy. "Thank you"

"No problem, its seriously good though" Jack told her before standing up and stepping away from the table. "I'm going to go have a shower"

The two teens left at the table watched Jack as he walked out of the kitchen but didn't dare to speak until he was out of earshot and had made it up the stairs completely.

"He seems nice" Hiccup mused, taking another sip from his juice.

Secretly, Hiccup liked the boy already, he hadn't laughed at his name and other than the digs he had made at Merida, he seemed genuinely nice. Hiccup had been wanting a boy to move in the house, not that he didn't like living with Rapunzel and Merida, because he did, but there is only so much a guy can go through on his own before he needs another guy to talk to and get away from the girls and their mood swings.

"Yeah.. seeing as I hit him over the head with a frying pan" Rapunzel muttered in agreement.

Rapunzel wasn't sure what to make of the white haired boy. He seemed arrogant and rather full of himself but yet at the same time he seemed sweet as he hadn't laughed or made a remark over Hiccup's name and had actually complemented the artwork he had picked up from the kitchen to return to her. What confused her the most was the fact that he hadn't kept a grudge over her hitting him with the frying pan, instead he was acting as if the night before had never happened.

"You did what?" Hiccup asked, choking on his juice as he began laughing, but Rapunzel wasn't able to explain before a scream and a yell was heard.

"What the fu-!"

Jumping up, Rapunzel and Hiccup ran up the stairs where Jack was on the floor clutching his nose while Merida was standing in the doorway of the bathroom, a towel wrapped around her and her hand still clenched into a fist.

"What happened?" Rapunzel asked as Hiccup helped Jack to his feet.

"This bint punched me in the fucking face!" Jack accused the girl, throwing his hand up to Merida not caring about the river of blood coming from his nose.

"Maybe because this perverted asshole walked in on me in the shower!" Merida screamed back.

"Believe me, I wouldn't have done it willingly" Jack shot out icily.

"Mer, you did lock the door.. didn't you?" Hiccup asked her, running a hand through his hair, not really wanting to break the two of them up incase they lashed out at him.

The angry blush which took over Merida's cheeks was answer enough and a sigh was heard from Hiccup and Rapunzel. This had happened before when Hiccup first moved in, the incident itself was the reason why they bought the lock but Merida still didn't use it. Taking Jack's arm, Rapunzel pulled him away from the bathroom and back down into the kitchen after Merida slammed the door shut and made a show of locking the door. After getting Jack to sit on one of the bar stools, Rapunzel pulled out her first aid kit and started to clean up the blood which had been dripping off of Jack's chin.

"What's her problem anyway?" Jack asked, his voice coming out muffled through the cloth he was holding against his nose to soak up the blood.

"Merida's lovely really, she just.. she doesn't react well to new people in a place she feels comfortable" Rapunzel attempted to explain to the injured boy.

"Doesn't mean she had to punch me in the face" Jack said quietly, glaring down at his bare feet. "Wasn't like I actually wanted to walk in on her in the shower"

"Well you did rile her up this morning so you deserved it in a way" The blonde haired girl said with a slightly smile and took the cloth away from him so she could check his nose again. "I'm pretty sure you'll live, just give Merida a chance"

"Fine, but I'm not apologizing" Jack muttered.

Meanwhile, upstairs, Hiccup was sat at his desk, surrounded by different scraps of paper as he attempted to design a new engine for his car when a completely black cat jumped up onto the desk and butted its head against his.

"Hey Toothless" Hiccup said with a smile, stroking the cat as it jumped up and made itself comfortable around the brunette's neck.

Hiccup was just beginning to draw out the idea he had forming when he heard a loud noise coming from the room across the hall. Getting up, he made his way across the hall and pushed the door open to reveal a fully dressed Merida laying back across her bed with her bow held in one hand. He followed her angry gaze to see the arrow embedded in the wall opposite from where she was laying.

"You know North doesn't like it when you do that Merida" Hiccup said, flicking his eyes to the arrow then back at Merida.

"North shouldn't let arrogant, pig headed, perverted, bleached hair boys live in this house then" The readhead grumbled to herself before looking up at Hiccup who was still standing in the doorway.

"You are the one who left the door unlocked… that wasn't really Jack's fault." Hiccup said with a shrug and looked at Merida again. "I mean, just give him a chance, you might even become friends."

"Fine, but I'm not apologizing" Merida muttered.


	4. Chapter 4: Boxes, Busking and Small Boys

Leaving Rapunzel to her business, Jack left the house to make a start at bringing his belongings into the house instead of leaving them in the truck any longer. He had manage to balance three boxes on top of each other before slowly picking them up and beginning to walk to back into the house without dropping them. He had manage to maneuver himself through the door and through the house until he was beginning to climb up the stairs. What he didn't realize was that all three of them were sat in the living room and choosing to ignore the TV to watch him walk through.

"He's not wearing shoes" Merida commented in a patronizing tone, her voice in a hushed whisper.  
"I'm not wearing shoes?" Rapunzel muttered back, looking down at her own feet before looking back at Jack.  
"Yeah but you've been in the house, he's just gone out to his car without shoes on, and if you haven't realized, its freezing outside." Merida stated, giving Rapunzel the side eye and rolling her eyes back to the white haired boy.  
"Am I the only person who has actually noticed that he is managing to balance three large boxes while climbing the stairs?" Hiccup mumbled to himself, trying to ignore the girl's pointless conversation.  
"I wonder how he manages to bleach his hair that white?" Merida mused before receiving an elbow in the stomach from the short blonde girl. "So help me, Rapunzel, I will cut off your hair if you do that again"  
"Don't even dare" Rapunzel said, her gaze hardening until she was glaring at the girl in question.  
"I really don't understand your friendship" Hiccup told them both before standing up and walking through to the kitchen to get himself another drink.

As he walked through, he caught the attention of Jack who had just got to the top of the first flight of stairs and turned to smile at the brown haired boy before carrying on up the stairs. He managed, with much difficulty, to get up to his room before tripping over the last step and causing the boxes to go sliding. With an irritated groan, Jack picked himself up and began to put the stuff back into the boxes which had spilled out. He hadn't heard any footsteps making their way up the stairs so he made a guess that the others hadn't heard him trip which, in a way, was a relief as he didn't feel the need to be embarrassed and only grumbled to himself before picking the boxes back up and taking them into his room. He'd opened the curtains just before he went down stairs, finally allowing the light in so he'd be able to see his bedroom properly instead of fumbling around in the dark. The room was a lot larger than he had actually given it credit for the night before, though he hadn't much to think about since he was gone as his head touched the pillow.

Dropping the boxes on the floor, Jack began to unpack his clothes and throw them onto the double bed which was without a duvet as Jack had kicked it onto the floor during the night and he'd still not picked it up. Pulling out his old hockey jersey from Burgess, Jack chuckled to himself before placing it down on his bed gently before noticing a picture of his team just under where the jersey had been. He brought up up to look at it and laughed again before putting it back down and continuing to unpack his clothing, looking back at it every now and again and smiling to himself over the memories he had of the team. After throwing all of his clothes onto the bed and shoes under it, Jack moved onto the last box of the ones he'd brought up and started pulling out photographs of him, his friends and his family to start tacking them up onto the wall. He had managed to get a lot of them onto the wall before realizing he'd left his truck open with the remaining boxes inside. Dropping the photo he was holding, Jack raced down the stairs and started to run through the hallway, only to trip over a pile of boxes with a note attached to them.

'Bleach Boy,  
Don't leave your truck unlocked, you never know who could get inside. We locked it up and brought these in for you. Punz has gone to meet with her mother and Hiccup and I are down the local coffee place.  
Don't say I never did anything nice.  
Merida.'

Shaking his head, Jack screwed up the note and stuffed it into his pocket before picking up the boxes and carrying them up to his room, knowing he'd be there for quite a long time trying to get it into the way he wanted to. Plugging his iPod in, Jack managed to find a song he liked and turned it up before becoming lost in the music as he began to fix his room the way he wanted it.

Rapunzel hadn't gone to see her mother, but in fact had travelled into town and began busking with a couple other people who she'd become friends with during the past weeks she'd travelled there. Rapunzel had pulled out her guitar and began to strum it, slowly singing along to Your Song. She had become so caught up in the song that she hadn't realized the crowd which had formed around her and her friends who were creating a beat behind her to sing to with her guitar.

"..how wonderful life is.. now you're in the world" She finished, finally opening her eyes and blushing red at the applause she was given from the people.

It didn't take long before Rapunzel was on her way back to the house but was attacked by a small boy with bright green hair. If anyone else were to walk down the road mindlessly and get attacked by a ten year old boy with green hair, they would probably have thrown him off or yet scream out for anyone to help them from the attacker. Rapunzel though, didn't do any of this but instead pulled the boy round and gave him a hug, kissing the top of his head.

"Hey Pascal" Rapunzel said with a smile. "How are you today?"

The young boy only smiled at her and nodded, Pascal and Rapunzel had been friends for a long time, she'd been around the neighbourhood since before she had started the college, her mother had friends down here and Rapunzel had to go along but through that she met Pascal, a small boy who sat alone a lot of the time, even though all the other kids would invite him out to play, because he was scared about how people would react when they found out that he wasn't able to talk as Pascal had been born mute and didn't like it when people would say he was 'dumb'. the two of them formed a pretty strong bond, even if they had an eight year age gap between them, Rapunzel would always put anything on standby to spend some time with Pascal.

"Want to go grab a milkshake?" She asked him with a grin as he took her hand and nodded enthusiastically.

The two of them walked back the way she had originally come from and walked around the corner to an old seventies diner and opened the door for the young boy before following in behind him and ordering their usual milkshakes with the waitress who Rapunzel had known for a while. It seemed like wherever she went, Rapunzel knew someone or someone knew her. The blonde girl barely noticed it, she went by the rule that she would treat people how she hoped to be treated as they have done nothing to cause her any dislike.

"So, school any good?" She asked, thanking the waitress as she placed the milkshakes down in front of the two of them.

Pulling the drink toward him, Pascal shrugged and took a sip before lifting his hand up and tilting it side to side before looking back at Rapunzel and shrugging again as if to say that; 'yeah it was alright but it could be better' in Pascal's own quirky way. She nodded and reached over to him, ruffling the boy's hair up.

"And what about this hey? Green? Safe to say, you're definitely bigger since I last saw you" Rapunzel told him with a small smile.

Pascal smiled at her before reaching out to tap the waitress walking past and miming the actions of a pen, smiling at the woman who gave it to him. He pulled a napkin out of the dispenser and began to write on it, causing Rapunzel to raise an eyebrow and try to see what he was writing, but was unable. The boy finally lifted the napkin up and Rapunzel's features softened and she slid around the booth to pull the boy into another hug, running a hand through his hair, looking back down at the napkin.

'I missed you, please don't go again, please?'

"I promise, I'm not leaving anytime soon" Rapunzel whispered, pressing a kiss to the top of his head.

* * *

This is one of those boring, filler chapters that need to be in the book to build the story more and I'm sorry for the bore of an update!

I'm hoping to write a Hiccupy chapter soon! maybe a couple surprises along the way.

I think Pascal will become one of my favorite characters but do you know how hard it is to write a character who is mute? Jesus Christ.


	5. Chapter 5: Hippo?

Hiccup ran a hand through his messy hair and let out an unaudible groan as Merida began to rant about her family again as they were walking through the cafe to find a table to sit at. It wasn't like he didn't care, cause he did, it was just that it wasn't the first time she had gone off on a rant saying the exact same thing she had the first time round. He knew that Merida's family were unlike others but he also knew that the rest of them had problems with their families but kept them to themselves instead of moaning about it. When they found a seat, Hiccup left to go grab their drinks but fell short when he saw who was serving him.

"A-Astrid! He..ey how are y-you?" He stammered out, his face blushing a bright red, causing his freckles to become even more prominent.

"What do you want to order?" The blonde girl asked him, her voice void of any emotion whatsoever.

"Oh.. uh.. a cappuccino and black americano" Hiccup ordered before placing the money down on the table and sliding it over to Astrid.

"Sure, whatever" She replied, taking the money and handing the change back to Hiccup before turning to make his coffees.

Hiccup's heart was beating quite rapidly as the girl turned her back, he'd been trying to speak to her since the first time he saw her but he couldn't form any of the words. He could feel his palms sweating slightly from trying to think of what he would say to her when she turned back around to give him his order.

"One cappuccino and one black americano" Astrid voiced the order before placing them down in front of Hiccup.

"H-Hey, I was just w-wondering if m-maybe you wanted to go out one night?" Hiccup tried to ask the girl, his voice becoming stammered again.

"Next!" The blonde barista called to the person behind Hiccup.

With a sigh, Hiccup picked up the two drinks and slowly made his way back to Merida who was sitting on one of the plush couches with an earphone in one ear, bopping her head to the music softly. He placed the two coffees in front of her and gave her a forced smile as he sat down on the couch opposite and picked up his Americano.

"Let me guess" Merida drawled out, picking up her own coffee. "Astrid turned you down again"

"Shut up" He mumbled, taking a sip of his coffee.

"God sake Hiccup, when will you learn that she's not worth your time?" Merida said with a sigh, pressing her knuckles to her head.

Hiccup didn't have an answer for that, instead he brought the coffee back up to his lips and took a large sip from his coffee so he didn't have to answer her. He could hear her mumbling about going to the toilet and he nodded his head sightly, staring straight ahead at the table and not back at Astrid who was still acting as if he didn't exist. He didn't notice the red headed girl take a step toward him and when he felt her lips against his forehead, a blush broke out on his cheeks and he refused to look up until he could see her feet walking away.

Looking up, Hiccup blew out a breath and tried to will the blush away from his cheeks before looking around and spotting Astrid looking straight over at him. He snapped his gaze back down to his coffee and took another gulp before setting it down on the table again, keeping his gaze anywhere but back at Astrid. He could feel her eyes burning into the back of his head but, for once, he didn't care and couldn't help the smile which came across his lips. When he saw Merida coming back out the corner of his eye, Hiccup tried to stop the smile on his lips and instead just gave her a small smile as she sat down.

"Yo! Merida, Hippo! How's your day been?" A slick voice said called to the two of them beore Hiccup felt the couch dip beside him.

"It's Hiccup" Hiccup correctly quietly with a sigh, looking up at the older boy.

"Ryder, what are you doing here?" Merida asked with a sigh.

Flynn Ryder was a older, hot headed and some people would say attractive mechanic in the main town of Corona, he worked around the corner from the university and his name was known widely around it. He seemed to have a different girl on his arm every week but right now, his focus had shifted onto Rapunzel. Merida was becoming very protective of the small blonde, she didn't want Flynn anywhere near her, and Hiccup would say that Merida hated Flynn more than anyone. There was a reason behind it though, Hiccup could understand exactly why she felt that protective of Rapunzel.

When Merida first came down to the university, the first person she met was Flynn and of course, not knowing his reputation, Merida allowed him to play her. She had fallen hard for him and as she had planned something romantic for him to come home to, she found him with another girl. That hurt Merida more than she would ever admit it, and Rapunzel was there to help her every step of the way. Now Flynn had set his sights on Rapunzel, Merida refused to let him step a foot near her.

"Oh, just came by to see my two favorite people, isn't that right, Hippo?" Flynn said with a grin, nudging Hiccup's ribs.

"Hiccup" Hiccup corrected Flynn again, his voice taking on a bitter tone.

"Yeah, whatever" The older boy smiled off with a flick of his hand. "So, where's the beautiful blondie?"

"As far away from you" Merida said through her teeth, glaring at the boy who was arrogant enough to smile at her.

"That's not nice, is it Mer?" Flynn said, his lips going into a mocking pout.

"Do not call me Mer" The redhead snapped. "Hiccup, lets go"

Standing up from her seat, Merida stormed out of the cafe shoving her way past Flynn, causing Hiccup to awkwardly follow after her. He managed to get outside in one piece and made his way up to Merida who was waiting for him against the wall outside. He could tell that she was willing away tears and instead of being awkward again, Hiccup walked up to her and put his arm around her shoulders with a warm smile.

"C'mon, I say its a good day for a movie night" He said with a grin. "All of us, yeah?"

"Even Frost" She said with a laugh, swallowing down the lump in her throat.

"Yes even Jack" Hiccup agreed, giving her a large grin and beginning to lead her down the road and back to their house.

"What're the odds that Rapunzel's going to want to watch a musical again?" Merida asked Hiccup, her lips quirking up into a smile which he could tell was trying to stop a laugh escaping.

"What're the odds that Jack will be scarred for life when Rapunzel starts forcing him to join in?" Hiccup offered in return.

That did it, Merida's lips finally parted and the laugh escaped from them and Hiccup joined in. He didn't like seeing Merida upset, it was like her strong and powerful nature had been snatched away from her and in its place was a weak young girl who just needed someone to make her smile.

Hiccup was just glad he could be the one behind that smile though.

* * *

Personally, I find this chapter adorable.


	6. Chapter 6: Why is it about breakfast?

The house was too quiet, even with his music on, or that was what Jack thought anyway. Jumping across his bed, Jack took his iPhone off the docking station and instead plugged his earphones into it. Sliding the phone into his pocket, Jack put his earphones in one at a time before beginning to jog back downstairs and towards his car for the last bag of his stuff. Jack hadn't noticed the blonde girl walking across the hallway as he began to skid towards the door, causing the two of them to go crashing to the floor.

Jack lifted his hands up to take the impact of the floor and screwed his face up before slowly opening his eyes and meeting the shocked eyes of Rapunzel who was trapped underneath him. It was quite a sight to see, Rapunzel trapped on the floor, her hair splayed out in all directions, with Jack's knees either side of her thighs and hands either side of her head. Neither of them could move for a second, they just stared at each other in shock, unsure of what to do before Jack scrambled off of her and Rapunzel pushed herself up from the floor. Letting out an embarrassed cough, Jack slowly took out his earphones and ran a hand through his hair, staring down at the floor before looking up at Rapunzel who was blushing madly and taking out her own earphones. Neither spoke before their eyes met again and they both opened their mouths to speak.

"I'm sorry" They chorused, chuckling slightly when realizing exactly what had just happened.

"I should really start looking at where I'm going" Jack told her, running a hand through his hair when he felt his usually pale cheeks turn red.

"No, it was my fault, I should stop daydreaming" Rapunzel said with a small smile, running her hands over a large strand of her hip length hair.

The blonde girl's eyes travelled back to the floor where her sketchbook laid before bending down to try and pick it up with all of the loose pieces of paper inside. Jack tried to look anywhere but at the blonde girl but ended up admiring the girl's ass which was still half thrust in the air as she was picking up the pieces, his eyebrows slowly raising up his head. Rapunzel who was still oblivious to this, snapped her head to the door when she heard it open and Merida waltz in with Hiccup not far behind. Turning red again, Jack looked anywhere but at Rapunzel who had now stood up, her hip cocked to one side and smiled at the two who had just arrived.

"Hey guys!" Rapunzel welcomed the two of them with a smile, tucking the strand of hair she had previously been playing with behind her ear. "I was just wondering when you guys would be home!"

"Well we're back now aren't we?" Merida said, giving Rapunzel a smile but shooting Jack a suspicious look.

"Do you guys want to join us for a movie night?" Hiccup offered, holding up the bags of snacks that they had bought on the way home.

Jack finally raised his gaze up from the floor when he heard Rapunzel squeal from next to him, he accidentally met Merida's scrutinizing look. In the background, he could hear Rapunzel listing off different films that the four of them could watch but Jack wasn't able to concentrate until he felt the blonde girl grip and begin to hang off his arm, causing Jack to jerk his head back to look at her.

"Jack! Have you seen Chicago? Or Les Miserables! Its my favorite movie, even though I cried through all of it! I used to want to be Roxie in Chicago but then I realized Velma is probably the better one to be, what do you think?" Rapunzel began to ramble, still hanging off of Jack's arm and looking up at him with her doe eyes.

"Uh.. I just need to.. bag.. yeah.." Jack said pointing toward the door before walking over and swiftly disappeared through it.

"What got him all hot a flustered?" Merida asked, walking through to the kitchen and dumping her bags on breakfast bar. "Not that I actually care, but you know since I have to suffer with living with him.."

"Just pick a DVD already Merida" Hiccup said with a sigh, pressing a knuckle to his forehead.

While the other three were arguing about what DVD they should watch, Jack hurried out to his truck and pulled the last bag out from the back and smiled before locking it up and making his way back inside. He checked his watch after realizing just how dark it was outside and his eyebrows shot up when he saw that it was turning ten. He shook his head and went back inside, swinging his bag on his back.

"Hey Jack, what's your favorite film?" Hiccup's voice travelled through the doorway as Jack closed the front door behind him.

"Uh.. I'd rather not say?" Jack said, pushing his hands into his pockets.

"C'mon bleach boy. Just spit it out!" Merida yelled.

"Please Jack?" Rapunzel asked, beginning to open the bottles of beer with the bottle opener they kept in the drawer.

"Fine. Its the Breakfast Club" Jack mumbled, leaving his bag in the hallway before walking into the kitchen.

"Didn't quite catch that" Hiccup told him, raising an eyebrow.

"The Breakfast Club, okay?" Jack told them, his eyes dangerously narrowing at Hiccup.

"What's that? A film about breakfast?" Rapunzel asked obliviously, her voice laced with confusion as she stared up at Jack.

"No its a film about these kids who have to be in school on a Saturday for a detention and they are from five different social classes so none of them have ever spoke to each other before and they have to try and get along the whole day, theyg o through a lot like fights and even get high but its one of those films, you have to watch it to understand why I like it so much" Jack told her, a smile gracing his lips as he tried to explain the film he had watched so many times.

"I think I have that on DVD, one minute" Hiccup said, standing up and running to his small office before coming back with the DVD in his hand.

"Looks like we're watching that then" Merida muttered, picking up the snacks and walking into the front room.

Hiccup and Rapunzel followed her, leaving Jack stand awkwardly in the kitchen before he rolled his eyes and strided in after them. He hadn't had the chance to explore the house completely so he wasn't sure what to expect when he walked into the room. Hiccup was already sat in the armchair with the remote in hand and his cat, Toothless, asleep on his lap while Merida had completely taken up a sofa to herself, leaving the remaining loveseat for Rapunzel and himself to share. Jack slowly sat back on it while Rapunzel was putting the DVD in and picked up his beer bottle and took a swig of it before Rapunzel launched herself onto the loveseat and stretched herself out.

"Er.. Punz?" Hiccup said, propping himself up and looking at the blonde girl who was laid out over the entire loveseat, Jack included. "You do realize there are two people on that couch right?"

"Oh my god! I am so sorry!" Rapunzel gasped, staring up at Jack who was still holding his beer bottle up to his lips.

"Its fine" Jack chuckled. "I grew up with a younger sister, nothing new. Its alright, you can stay there if you want?"

"Really?" The blonde asked with a smile. "Thank you!"

"Yes, Rapunzel, thank him for using that as an excuse to look at your legs why don't you" Merida muttered, causing the three of them to turn their heads toward her.

"Unlike you, fire crotch, I actually respect other people" Jack said with a cold smirk on his lips, making a point to turn his back toward her and instead focus on the TV screen.

"Think you two could be quiet until the movie finishes?" Hiccup asked them only to receive grunts in response.

The movie was amazing, in Rapunzel's eyes anyway, she had her eyes glued onto the screen since the film had started. Hiccup and Merida had both already seen the movie so they weren't as fascinated as the blonde was, whereas Jack was fighting to keep his eyes open. Eventually, Jack lost the battle and he fell asleep, slumping over so his head fell onto Rapunzel's stomach, causing him to knock over his drink and let it fall onto the floor. Merida sat up from where she had been laying and snapped her head round to glare at Jack.

"For fuck's sake, Frost!" She spat out but then got shushed by Rapunzel who was waving a hand in Merida's direction. "What now, Rapunzel?"

"He's asleep, give him a break, he drove all the way here from God know's where, its not his fault that he's tired" Rapunzel told her in a stage whispered voice, attracting Hiccup's attention as well.

"Y'know, I agree with Punz, I'm tired too, night guys" Hiccup said with a yawn escaping his lips before he got up and disappeared up the stairs with Toothless wrapped around his neck after giving Rapunzel the TV remote.

The two girls watched him walk up the stairs before Merida shook her head and wordlessly followed him up, turning off the hall light on her way leaving Rapunzel and Jack on the couch. Looking around, Rapunzel smiled when she looked up at the fairy lights which were hanging all around the living room for nights like these. Usually she was left downstairs watching movies after the other two had gone up to bed, bored with the films she had chosen to watch, she didn't mind anyhow, everyone had different tastes of movies. Rapunzel's head fell back down to Jack when she heard him yawn and move his head so his cheek was resting on her stomach and could only smile. She ran a hand through his hair before picking up the remote again and pressing play so the film continued playing and she relaxed into the sofa, letting out a yawn of her own.

"Why is it even called The Breakfast Club when it has nothing to do with breakfast?" Rapunzel mused to herself and looked down at Jack who was still fast asleep before shrugging it off and focusing back onto the movie.

* * *

A couple people asked for a Jackunzel scene, so here we go!


	7. Chapter 7: The Mysteries of Feet & Hair

It was half past five in the morning when Hiccup woke up. It had become a habit for him to wake up this early, one he wasn't a fan of. Swinging himself around so his legs hung off of the edge of his bed, Hiccup looked down at his feet and gave a small smile. He'd been quite a bad car crash a few years ago when a truck smashed into his car. Hiccup had managed to get out of the car crash with little injuries but when he was at the hospital, he took a turn for the worst and is left foot, up to his ankle had to be amputated. Shaking his head at the memory, Hiccup picked up his prosthetic foot and slid it onto the end of his leg before strapping it into place.

Slowly, Hiccup made his way down the stairs and into the kitchen to make himself a cup of coffee. While the kettle was boiling, he decided he would go clean up the front room. Upon entering it, he began to pick up the empty beer bottles that all four of them had managed to go through during the previous night and dispose of them into the kitchen. Making his way back in, Hiccup's gaze strayed to the loveseat where Jack and Rapunzel were still sleeping. They'd shifted during the night and Jack had moved so Rapunzel could rest her back against his chest and wrap an arm over her waist. Hiccup shook his head slightly, noticing that Jack's back was very close to the edge of the couch itself, knowing that if the boy moved even slightly, that he'd go tumbling to the floor.

As he picked up a near empty bowl of popcorn, Hiccup heard the click of the kettle back in the kitchen and made his way back there to throw the rest of the popcorn away and put the bowl in the sink. Hiccup had just began to pour out his coffee when he heard a large thump from the front room and reached up to grab another mug to pour out for Jack. Walking back into the front room with the two mugs, Hiccup found Jack sitting on the floor scratching his head and looking around.

"Here" Hiccup said, passing Jack the mug and sitting back in the chair he'd been in the previous night.

"Thanks" Jack replied, accepting the beverage and taking a sip of it. "Have I been down here the whole night?"

"Yeah, you fell asleep during the film, I think I went up to bed not long after that, then I heard Merida follow up as well" Hiccup spoke again before nodding toward Rapunzel who was still asleep on the loveseat. "Rapunzel stayed down here the entire night"

Looking behind him, Jack smiled slightly noticing Rapunzel shift in her sleep and turn to face the two of them. Putting his mug on the floor, Jack went to his bag which was still on the floor and pulled out a blanket before walking back and draping it over Rapunzel. Turning back to Hiccup who was sat looking at him whilst he sipped at his coffee, Jack just picked his coffee back up again and began sipping at it so the two were left in a comfortable silence. The light haired boy felt like saying something but he didn't know what to say, all he could notice was the fake foot attached to Hiccups leg, only visible because the boy wore shorts to bed the previous night.

"So.. how'd that happen?" Jack asked him, motioning to Hiccup's leg. "If you don't mind my asking?"

"Oh my leg?" Hiccup replied, looking down at his leg when Jack brought it up. "I was in a car accident, all happened a bit too fast and it was crushed so badly it had to be removed"

"Wow, sorry to hear about that" Jack replied, slightly astounded. "How long ago did that happen?"

"I think about two and a half years ago" The dark haired boy told him, nodding his head and bringing his coffee cup back tp to his lips.

The two of them fell into another comfortable silence while they both finished off their coffees. Hiccup couldn't help but look at Jack out the corner of his eye, a question playing on his lips, but unsure whether he should ask it incase the light haired boy would talk offense. Watching Jack put his empty mug on the floor, Hiccup decided to ask the question anyhow, as the boy had asked him about his leg, he should be able to ask his question without the boy taking offense.

"So.. your hair, is it.." Hiccup trailed off, unsure whether he wanted to finish the question when Jack turned to face him.

"Natural?" Jack finished for him, letting out a chuckle.

"Yeah, that's what I was going to say" Hiccup said looking down at his mug before back at Jack.

"Yeah it is" Jack said with a grin, running a hand through his hair. "My hair was brown for the first I don't know.. ten years of my life? As I got older, it slowly began to lose pigment until it was completely white."

"Really? I've never heard of that happening" Hiccup said with a bit of awe.

"Genetics" Jack told him, giving him a shrug. "Its pretty rare"

The two of them allowed the conversation to die and slowly went back to what they were doing before; Jack losing himself in his thoughts, remembering back when he had lost the pigment in his hair, and how scared he was at the time. He hated it, he felt like the freak of the class and of the neighbourhood, the kid with white hair though he was born with brown, a lot of neighbours and school kids used to say how his mother lied about who his father was and instead dyed his hair brown for ten years, others used to just call him names.

"Hey Dad?" A ten year old Jack asked, looking up at his father who was carrying Jack's backpack on his shoulder, after picking him up from school.

"Yeah, Jack?" Johnathon, Jack's dad replied, looking down at his son whose eye's were still tinged red from where he had been crying.

"Why is my hair like this?" Jack questioned, a hand flying up to his hair and pulling at it.

Johnathon sighed slightly, he had been called by Jack's principle and asked if he could pick his son up at lunch time as the boy had been subjected to bullying again. It wasn't the first time that this had happened, but it was the first time Jack had reacted to it, landing about three of them in the nurses office with injuries ranging from a scraped knee to a split lip. He ruffled his son's hair before pulling him into a one armed hug and smiling down at him.

"Because Jack, you're different than those other children" Johnathon told him softly, it was true after all.

"I don't like being different, that's why I'm in that school" Jack muttered, hiding his face in his father's shirt.

It wasn't a secret that Jack had trouble at school, he couldn't sit still, he had to constantly be moving as he couldn't concentrate just sitting down. Johnathon and Evelyn, Jack's mother, were already discussing whether or not to let Jack change school again as he certainly wasn't happy at this one. They still had to worry about their youngest, Emma, she had nothing wrong with her, she was perfect, but they feared that she would think that they prefer Jack over her due to the amount of time they spent talking about him, caring for him after he was bullied and helping him when it came to work or sorting out what was wrong.

"That's the thing Jack, you're not just any kind of different.." Johnathon told his son, bending down so he was looking him straight in the eye. "..you're better"

Jack's lips slowly pulled back into a hundred watt smile and he launched himself at his father, wrapping his arms around him in a hug and just stood there. His father was unresponsive at first, he was never too comfortable when it came to affection but slowly, he wrapped an arm around his son and hugged him, his cheek pressing against Jack's head.

"Thanks Dad" Jack whispered, knowing his father couldn't hear him but knowing it was a lesson which had stuck with him for so many years.

Shaking his head, Jack ran a hand through his hair and stood up, taking the now empty mug back into the kitchen and leaving it in the sink, making a vow that he would wash it when he came back. Walking back through, Jack gave Hiccup a smile and made a motion toward the stairs, hoping he'd get the jist of it before disappearing up them and shutting himself into the bathroom and locking the door behind him, just incase Merida decided to throw it open while he was in the shower.

Hiccup had heard Jack thanking his dad but didn't want to say anything, he wouldn't intrude on people's lives unless they told him personally. He was curious though as to what memory Jack had found himself in when he slipped into his day dream, Hiccup was no stranger to day dreaming either so he knew when he saw Jack that he must have found himself in a memory which was of importance to him. Hearing a rustling beside him, Hiccup looked over toward the loveseat and saw Rapunzel laying there with her green eyes wide open, staring over at Hiccup who was still nursing his coffee.

"Morning" She said with a smile lighting up her whole face.

"Morning Rapuzel, I'm afraid you just missed Jack, he's just gone to have a shower" Hiccup told her, taking another sip of his coffee and giving her a knowing smile.

"Lets hope he's locked the door incase Merida decides that she wants a shower" Rapunzel giggled slightly before allowing herself to go into a stretch then yawned. "So what were you boys talking about at this time of the morning?"

"Oh you know, amputated limbs, pigmentation of hair" Hiccup listed off with a shrug of his shoulders, reaching down to pick Toothless up as she walked past his chair, purring.

"Oh?" The blonde girl replied, her voice laced with curiosity.

"Turns out, his hair is completely natural" He told her, a hand running through his own hair at the subject of the conversation.

"Seriously? Is he like albino or something?" Rapunzel asked, her eyebrows furrowing as she tried to work out what could make Jack's hair that colour.

"No, he had a very rare genetic combination which caused his hair to lose pigment when he was only ten years old, apparently, before that, he had brunette hair" Hiccup told her, inwardly rolling his eyes at the fact that he was outrightly gossiping with Rapunzel. He had been living with girls for far too long.

* * *

The scene I had with Jack and his dad hugging, I imagined when Jamie hugged Jack and his reaction. So yeah. Some Jack and Hiccup friendshipping.


End file.
